Secret of the Great Sea
by Nitro Indigo
Summary: [Courageous Little Ralts] A young Ralts goes on a journey to save his sister, which soon unfolds into something much greater. With the help of a talking boat, he will discover the secret of the Great Sea. (Cover made by demighira on Tumblr.)
1. From Humble Beginnings

Gardevoir's loyalty and devotion makes sense from an evolutionary (Darwinian that is) standpoint if you look at its pre-evolved forms. Ralts is one of the weakest Pokemon in the series, even outdoing Magikarp and Kirlia is the weakest evolved Pokemon that isn't a sedentary cocoon. Gardevoir evolved to fiercely protect those it loved, their children, as they were so vulnerable.  
 _Fridge: Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, TV Tropes_

* * *

 _Throughout the Great Sea, there echoes a legend...  
_ _A legend of a hero who traveled through time to save a kingdom where a golden power lay hidden from an evil tyrant. He became known as the Hero of Time, and the inhabitants of that land came to rely on him. But when the world needed him again, he did not appear, despite the countless pleas to the gods._

 _What became of that kingdom? None remain who know._

 _But still, **the legend continues on the wind**..._

* * *

When I was just a little Ralts, I spent a lot of time wondering about a lot of things. I used to wonder what lay beyond the endless ocean we called home. I used to wonder if I'd ever do anything great. I used to wonder if all of the stories we were told were true, the legends of ancient heroes. And then, one day, unfortunate circumstances caused me to go out on a journey which ultimately lead me to discover all sorts of truths, even the truths of things that I'd never even wondered about. I'd even go as far to say that I discovered things mortals should never have known...  
Okay, maybe that was a bit over-dramatic.

Arc-en-Ciel suggested that I wrote down my story, so that it would never be forgotten. Who knows, maybe future generations will find this incredibly interesting.  
My name's Link, and this is the story of how I discovered the secret of the Great Sea.

* * *

"Hey brother! Wake up!"

It was another morning on the peaceful little Outset Island, where a few Ralts, Kirlia and Gardevoir (but not Gallade, because Dawn Stones were very rare and expensive), such as myself and my family, lived. The sky was clear, and I could hear the sounds of the calm sea and Wingull. I woke up to find myself asleep on the watchtower, and my sister Aryll shouting at me. Being tired, I wasn't sure why she was so excited.

"Guess what today is!" she exclaimed.  
I hadn't really woken up yet, so I just stared.  
"Happy birthday, big brother!"  
"Oh!" How had I forgotten it was my birthday? I had barely gotten any sleep the night before, which must've been how I ended up on the watchtower.  
"Link! Grandma would like to see you!"  
Aryll and I lived with our grandmother. Our parents died when my sister and I were only young. Grandma was kind, but I sometimes worried about her, having to manage with two children on her own.

I made my way down to the village. There was an upside-down triangle symbol on all of the doors in the village. The townsfolk were all willing to talk to me, wishing me a happy birthday and telling me useful information. I eventually made it to my house.

"Happy birthday, Link!" said Grandma. "Today, you're the same age as the hero from the legends. You're also around the age where, a long time ago, young Ralts were taught the ways of swordplay. But now we live in an era of peace, and we have no need for that anymore."

She then told me that there would be a big party in the evening, but it would be a surprise, and that I should talk to Aryll in the meantime.

* * *

I eventually made my way back to the watchtower, where many Wingull were gathering. Aryll was waiting for me there.

"Close your eyes and hold out your hand, big brother!" she happily exclaimed.  
I did as instructed, and Aryll gave me… her telescope? She never let go of that thing.  
"You can borrow it for just one day!"

I used the telescope, and saw that the Fletchinder postman, Quill, was delivering letters to our house. Suddenly, though, he looked as if he was startled by something.  
"Look! Over there!" Aryll shouted.

I moved the telescope upwards, and saw that there was a giant, brown winged Pokémon – I think it was called a Staraptor – wearing some kind of mask. Upon closer inspection, it was carrying a Kirlia in its talons. The Staraptor was then hit by a rock, dropping the Kirlia into the Forest of Flabébé on the top of the island. I couldn't just leave someone in need on their own; I _had_ to do something.

"Aryll, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to rescue her," I said. "Don't worry about me, okay?"

* * *

Before I could go to the forest, I needed to get a sword, because the path was blocked by some small trees. The only swordsmon on the island was Mantine (who wasn't actually a Mantine). The Pokémon of Outset Island rarely had to defend themselves, so most of them didn't know moves, and when they did, they were usually defensive ones. We mostly resorted to using weapons. Everyone on the island knew each other well, so I entered his house.

"What is the matter, Link? You look as if something terrible has happened," he said.  
"Well, a giant Star-" I tried to respond, but was interrupted.  
"Whatever happened, I suppose it was no laughing matter. Now, would you like to learn the ways of the sword?"  
"Umm… yes."

And so we began my sword training. He first taught me how to do a horizontal slice, which involved me attacking him. I was a bit nervous about it at first, but then when I actually attacked the old Gardevoir, he blocked it. I attacked him with the horizontal slice a few more times, and then he taught me the vertical slice, and the trust, and the spin attack (which made me rather dizzy), and the parry, and the jump attack, repeating the process every time.

"That was a fine display!" said Mantine, once we'd finished our training. "And yet… I sense a certain anxiousness in the way you use your sword."  
"That's because I'm going to resc-" I tried to say, but was once again interrupted.  
"I do not know what has happened, but I have faith in you. Take that sword with you, and use it well."

And so I climbed up the slope to the Forest of Flabébé to rescue the Kirlia girl. Little did I know that this was the start of something much greater...

* * *

 _Before you ask why Mantine/Orca is male and a Gardevoir: Gardevoir can be either gender. If you don't believe me, try getting a male Kirlia to level 30 in a game of your choice._


	2. The Forest of Flabébé

I climbed up the slope to the Forest of Flabébé. The rope bridge that connected the forest to the rest of the island was missing a plank, but I could easily jump over the gap.  
I couldn't see any Flabébé in the forest. They were normally shy, but I could usually notice one or two if I looked hard enough. I assumed that the Staraptor scared them all away. The forest was dark, and there was overgrown grass and fallen logs everywhere. Twigs crunched under my feet as I walked.  
I eventually came across the Kirlia that the bird Pokémon had dropped. She was hanging from a tree branch, and had one of those pirate knives – I think it's called a cutlass – and wore a golden triangle as a necklace. I could sense that she was scared, but that she didn't want to admit it, and something else about her just felt... odd.  
Suddenly, I noticed two Staravia dropping one hostile Snubbull each into the forest from the skies above. With my newly-learned sword techniques, I managed to defeat both of them, although I did get a few scrapes in the process. I was only an amateur, after all. The Kirlia in the tree must've heard the small battle, because when it was over she woke up… and then the tree branch snapped, causing her to fall. Ouch.

"So, where am I…?" the Kirlia asked. "Oh, that's right. That giant Staraptor came and…"  
"Hoy! Miss Tetra!" a male Gardevoir shouted, running towards the Kirlia. "I'm so glad you're okay! I thought you were a goner when the bird dropped you on this summit!"  
"Summit…? So the bird dropped me on top of a mountain…? WHAT?!" the Kirlia, whose name I assumed was Tetra, snapped back at her ally. "We'll don't just stand there! We need to get revenge on that bird!"  
"But Miss Terta," replied the Gardevoir, who seemed to be one of Tetra's subordinates, "what about the boy?"  
"Don't worry about him. Come on!" Tetra muttered.

I followed the unusual pair out of the forest. There was someone on the bridge.  
"Hoy! Big brother!"  
It was Aryll, my little sister. What was she doing up here? She waved at me, and I waved at her back.

Suddenly, the ferocious bird swooped down and was headed to the bridge. I was horrified as it grabbed my little sister.  
"BROTHER!" Aryll desperately shouted, but there was nothing she could do.  
Without thinking, I unsheathed my sword and ran as fast as I could after the Staraptor. I almost ran off the cliff, but then Tetra grabbed my hand just before I fell.  
"Stupid kid!" she shouted. "Get a hold of yourself! She's gone! There's nothing you can do!"  
Tetra's words enraged me. Why would I give up on Aryll? She was my little sister; I HAD to look out for her. It's what my parents would've wanted me to do.

* * *

Later, the Gardevoir, Tetra and I were on the beach.

"What? You want to come with us on our ship to save your sister?" exclaimed Tetra.  
"Yes. YES!" I shouted back, still slightly angry about the pirate girl's words from earlier.  
"Are you SURE? We're PIRATES! The terror of the seas! There's no place for a little kid like you!"  
"But you also seem a bit too young to–" I tried to answer back.  
"Shut up. Anyway, kiddo, if we let you on our ship, all we'd get is a headache! Your sister may have been kidnapped, but that doesn't have anything to do with us!"

Just then, I noticed the local Fletchinder postmon nearby.  
"Hey!" shouted Quill. "It DOES involve you! If you hadn't come to this island, the bird wouldn't have snatched that little Ralts!"  
"Just what do you mean by that?" demanded Tetra.  
"Let me explain. I spend much of my time travelling between islands all over the sea. As a result, I hear many things… and I've heard that young Ralts and Kirlia girls everywhere are being kidnapped by that giant bird. Just like you were, Miss Fearsome Pirate. My point is that the bird must've mistook that poor girl for you, and that's why it grabbed her!"

Tetra stared, as if she disagreed with Quill but didn't know what to say.

"And I also believe it was young Link here who saved you from those monsters in the forest? While I'm at it, I might as well tell you that the monstrous bird has flown to the north, to a place known as the Forsaken Fortress."  
"The Forsaken Fortress?!" exclaimed Tetra, as if she'd heard of that place before. "Isn't that the place where…"  
"Because of these circumstances," continued Quill, "it wouldn't be unreasonable to let Link come with you, would it?"  
"I DON'T need YOU to tell me that!" shouted Tetra, flabbergasted, as if she'd never been disagreed with in her life before. "Not to mention, lately I've been hearing countless evil rumours about the Forsaken Fortress! That kid can't defend himself with just a flimsy little sword! There's a difference between courage and stupidity!"  
I had to hold myself back from getting angry at Tetra.  
"Well, I have a shield I can go get…" I said quietly, because I didn't want to risk enraging the Kirlia.  
"True, but once we leave, you won't be returning to Outset for a while, and I don't want a little kid like you to cry incessantly on the ship! Say goodbye to your family before we go."

* * *

I did as Tetra had told me to and went back to my house to say goodbye to my grandmother. When I arrived, she was holding out the family shield.

"I guess it really is true… Aryll really has been kidnapped… What kind of monster would kidnap such an innocent child?"

After getting the shield from her, I thought hard about my grandmother's words. Why was the Staraptor kidnapping little girls? Was someone else commanding it to do so? If so, why would they do that?

As I left my house for the last time in a while, and headed towards the pirate ship, I said nothing. I was going to rescue Aryll, not matter what. She was my little sister, and I was responsible for her.


	3. The Forsaken Fortress

"Good luck finding Aryll!"

As the pirate ship departed, I waved goodbye to everyone on Outset Island. Everyone was trying to encourage me, which filled me with determination. I noticed my grandmother standing outside our house, rather than on the beach, and as I waved goodbye to her, I had to force myself not to cry. I'd come back with Aryll. I'd promised myself.

"Come on, kiddo. How long's this emotional departure gonna go on for?" it was Tetra again. "Are you sure you shouldn't quit right now. I can tell you're going to get REALLY sentimental from here on out… are you sure we shouldn't just take you back home?"  
I almost told Tetra to shut up, but I didn't want to make the situation worse.

* * *

It was night by the time the Forsaken Fortress was in sight. The fortress looked as if it had been abandoned for generations, worn away by the ocean. It was also heavily guarded by cannons, and there were searchlights everywhere, so access was difficult. The fearsome Staraptor from earlier was perched on a high part of the fortress.

"Over there! By that window!" Tetra pointed towards a window surrounded by Wingull. "That must be where your sister is!"  
"But our ship wouldn't be able to get into this accursed place," she continued. "So what do we do now…?"

Tetra came up with the brilliant idea to launch me into the Forsaken Fortress out of a barrel. She said it was the only way to get in, but I just assumed that she hated me. No surprise there.

"No fear, kiddo! We're gonna launch you good!" Tetra shouted.  
 _3… 2… 1…_  
"I HATE YOU!" I shouted as I was launched. If Tetra heard me, she probably didn't care.

I ended up hitting a wall in the fortress. The impact was so hard that my sword was knocked out of my left hand, and I fell into the water far below. What a great way to start my adventure…

* * *

 _"_ _Sorry about your sword!"_ a sarcastic voice exclaimed. _"I guess my aim was off a bit!"_ I looked around, trying to find who was talking. _"Hehe… I can talk to you using telepathy! Didn't you know?"_

"Tetra… you could've told me!"  
 _"Oh, I didn't tell you? Well, sorry about that! Anyway, I can also see whatever you're doing! So if you ever get stuck – which you probably will – just call me!"_

There were three searchlights in the fortress' courtyard, searching for intruders, such as me. Without a way to defend myself, I had to be stealthy. I ran through the courtyard, being careful to avoid the searchlights, and up a slope, until I saw a ladder leading to a platform where a Snubbull was controlling one of the searchlights. How would I defeat it? I didn't have a weapon to defend myself. Well, I _did_ have a shield…

I climbed up the ladder, and the Snubbull controlling the searchlights tried to attack me with a stick it was holding, but I held out my shield. After hitting my shield a few times, the Snubbull dropped its stick. I quickly picked the stick up and finished off the Fairy-type, although it took longer without my sword. It was actually rather satisfying, but I tried not to get used to using a stick as a weapon.

Inside of the Forsaken Fortress, there were many wooden platforms, lanterns hanging from the ceilings and rooms being patrolled by Granbull, where I had to hide in a barrel about four times my size to avoid getting caught. There was also a lot of Rattata and Sableye here, which were more of an annoyance than a threat.

After repeating the process with the two other searchlights, getting spotted and captured a few times (thankfully, it wasn't very hard to escape), and carefully sidling over a narrow platform, I climbed up a slope near the top of the fortress, where the window surrounded by Wingull was, and saw… my sword! My sword was lying there on a wide platform, and there was nothing in the way. Just as I was about to grab it, some spikes shot up out of the floor behind me, and a bluish-grey Snubbull with a shield and a rather sharp sword, who was standing in front of a door, noticed me. I rushed over to grab my sword, and quickly lunged at the Snubbull. Its weapon was soon knocked out of its hands, but it hadn't given up. It tried to defend itself with its shield and attack me with its bare hands, and it managed to hit me a few times. I persevered, though, because I knew Aryll was behind that door, and eventually defeated the Snubbull.

I went through the door, and entered a room with high walls and no ceiling. I noticed my sister, and a few other Ralts, in a wooden cage. A few Wingull were scattered around the room.  
"Aryll! I'm glad you're okay!" I exclaimed, gleefully.  
I could feel my sister's fear turn to joy... and then turn back to fear again.

Suddenly, the giant Staraptor descended from the skies above and landed on the floor in front of me, letting out a terrifying screech. Before I had time to react, the fearsome Flying-type grabbed me in its beak, and flew out of the room. It flew up the highest part of the fortress, which looked like half of a pirate ship, and just waited there, staring at a strange figure, which seemed to be its master. I couldn't really tell what its master was, but something just felt… _wrong_ about him. Without even saying anything, he instructed the bird to throw me into the ocean.

As I lay there in the ocean, unconscious, I wondered how Aryll, my sister who I failed to save, was feeling.


	4. A Rather Unusual Boat

"Link… Link… Wake up, Link!" a rather deep voice shouted. Where was it coming from?

As I awakened, I noticed that it was the middle of the day, the bright sun and tropical breeze in my face, and I was under a natural alcove, lying on a boat that seemed to have been designed for someone a lot bigger than me. Needless to say, I was rather confused.

"Pull yourself together, Link!"  
I stood up. "Who's talking to me and where are you?" I asked, half-expecting it to turn out to be my imagination.  
"You are surprisingly dull-witted," said the voice. Immediately afterwards, the boat turned its "head" around. I was so shocked, I fell over. The boat laughed at me. "Did I startle you? I'm not surprised. Although the world is a big place, I am the only boat upon it who possessed the power of speech. Do not fear me, for I have come to assist you. My name is the King of Red Lions."

What was a lion? At the time, I assumed it was some Pokémon I'd never heard of.

"I've been watching you ever since you ventured to the Forsaken Fortress to rescue your sister. Your determination to save your sister showed me that you have the courage to stand up to anything… but even still, your very life was at stake! Being reckless like that won't get you anywhere!"  
"The bird that attacked you is called the Helmaraptor King," the strange boat continued, "and the shadowy figure that commands it is none other than Ganondorf. Long ago, he tried to cover the land in darkness and steal the power of the gods, but was sealed away by that very same power. I do not know why the seal of the gods has failed, but he is once again threatening this very world. Link… are you still sure you want to save your sister from him?"  
"Yes! I'm still going to save her!" I replied with determination.  
"Would you be willing to risk your life to save her?"  
"Of course! I survived the Forsaken Fortress!"  
"I see, child. You seem worthy. In that case, I will guide you on your journey to save your sister. Ganon cannot be defeated by what little strength you possess. The key to defeating Ganon can only be found by one who has been through much toil and hardship. Do you understand?"  
"Certainly!"  
"In that case, we must depart to the Great Sea!" Red paused. "Or we would, but there is just one problem… I need a sail to truly be of use to you on your journey. I have brought you far east of the Forsaken Fortress to Windfall Island. On this island, there are many merchants who have travelled all over the world. You might be able to find a sail here if you search hard enough. But remember come back as soon as your errands are done"

I wondered for a moment how The King of Red Lions even managed to get me here in the first place without a sail, then jumped onto the beach under the alcove, and ran up to Windfall Island's town.

* * *

Windfall Island was like nothing I'd ever seen before. The main town was made up of all sorts of buildings, and there were all sorts of Pokémon around. There was so much to do here that I kept getting distracted.

After chasing some Tepig, spending way too much time playing the Sinking Ships game ("Sploosh..." "KERBOOM!"), breaking invaluable pottery and conversing with the rather… interesting townsfolk (one of them was perpetually dancing in front of a gravestone), I finally found a merchant. He was wearing a hooded coat that belonged in much colder weather, so I couldn't really make out what he was, and talked as if he had come from far away.

"Please purchase _that_ from me! _That_ is a very fine thing, and is all I have for sale!"  
"Umm… okay then?"  
"How does… 80 rupees sound?"  
"Sounds like a deal to me!"

The strange merchant's "fine thing" turned out to be a sail, which was exactly what I needed. I wasn't sure why he was being so vague about it. I excitedly ran down to the alcove where Red was and attached the sail to him.

"Let us go follow where the wind blows! We shall head east to Dragon Roost Island, where the Spirit of the Skies lives!" the King of Red Lions proclaimed.

As the salty wind blew in my face, my adventure truly began.


	5. Valoo, Medli and Prince Komali

It took us several hours to reach Dragon Roost Island. The sea was vast, and I could see places that were miles away in the clear summer sky and calm waters. I never knew that the world was this vast, and I never thought I'd get to explore it. Along the way, a few Wingull were flying overhead.

"On the top of this island is a great dragon named Valoo, the Spirit of the Skies," the King of Red Lions told me once we reached the island. "You must go see this dragon and request a jewel known as Din's Pearl. It will become invaluable to you later in your quest. Ask the Pokémon of this island about how to see this dragon."

I was about to walk off the beach and into the island after hearing this information, but then Red interrupted me.

"Oh, and before I forget…" he handed me a metal stick. "This baton is called the Wind Waker. Long ago, it was used by nobles to control the wind. It may be of some use to you on your quest."

After hearing this advice and learning how to use the baton, I headed right through a tunnel and swam to a small sandy islet. There were two stone tablets; one of them was broken, and the other one had an inscription on it.

 _To one who can control the wind… up, left, right…_

I got out the Wind Waker and pointed it in the directions mentioned on the tablet. As I did so, an unusual green and purple Pokémon flew down from the skies above.

"You must be the new Waker of Winds!" the Pokémon said. "I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Tornadus, God of Winds. That song you just played is call the Wind's Requiem, and can control the direction of the wind. Recently, my brother Thundurus has been wreaking havoc all over the Great Sea, tormenting travellers with cyclones. He must be angry because his monument was destroyed. Be careful out there, mortal!"

* * *

The exterior of Dragon Roost Island was very rocky with lots of slopes. To climb it, I needed to destroy several large rocks with a strange plant known as a bomb flower, which explode after a few seconds. I eventually made it to a small tunnel that lead to a platform overlooking the sea. Quill was there, and he was looking up at the sky before turning to face me.

"Link, is that you?" he asked.  
I nodded.  
"It is! I'm pleased to see you! I've been telling all the folks here about your determination to save your sister. Is she okay?"  
"Well… I, um… didn't actually manage to save her…"  
"I'm sorry about that. But since you're here, Link… would you like to meet our chieftain?"  
"I suppose so…"

I entered the tunnel leading to the inner part of Dragon Roost Island. The cavern had several levels, all connected by slopes. There were mailboxes stacked high on several floors. In the middle of the lowest level, a Talonflame was conversing with a Fletchinder.

"Have you discovered the cause of The Great Valoo's anger?" asked the Talonflame. His voice sounded rather deep, but not intimidating. I walked up to him. "Oh, you must be Link. Quill has told me about you. You're the Ralts who braved the Forsaken Fortress, are you not?"  
"Yes, that's me."  
"We are very sorry to bother you, but the inhabitants of this island have a problem of our own to deal with…"  
"When you arrived on this island," said Quill, "did you notice the raging dragon atop the mountain?"  
"As you can see," continued the Talonflame, "our kind are proudly connected to the skies. We carry information through airways. It is a traditional rite of passage for young Fletchling to get a scale from The Great Valoo, the Spirit of the Skies, before they evolve. Recently, however, the usually peaceful dragon has suddenly become violent and angry, and we can no longer approach him. This could become dangerous to future generations, and our very way of life could be threatened. My apologies, but you must wait for this problem is solved before we can assist you."  
"What about your son, Prince Komali?" Quill spoke up. "He may open his heart up to Link. He's a very gallant Ralts."  
The Talonflame paused to think for a moment. "To elaborate, my son, Prince Komali, is at the age to perform this rite of passage. But due to unfortunate circumstances, he's considering giving up and never doing it. What do you say, Link? Will you meet my son and give him the courage he desperately needs?"  
"Yes!" I replied.  
"Then we will do our best to solve our problem, so that we may help you with yours. A young Fletchling named Medli has something I would like to give to my son. Could you please get it? I am counting on you."

* * *

I climbed up the slope to the level above, and entered a room where a Fletchling girl was standing.

"You must be Link!" she said. "Oh, me? I'm Medli, attendant to the Great Spirit of the Skies Valoo. Nobody on this island really knows what he is. He's a dragon, but not any species of Dragon-type Pokémon that we know of. Oh! I shouldn't say things like that. Anyway, to tell the truth, I'm only training to be an attendant. Also, the chieftain wanted me to give you this to give to Prince Komali."

I assumed the chieftain was the Talonflame from earlier. Medli handed me a letter.

"When you meet Prince Komali, don't be offended by his manner. He's been like that for a while. Oh… and before I forget, could you please come to the entrance to Dragon Roost Cavern later? I'll explain later."

I ran back down the slope to the lowest level, and down a small flight of stairs. I opened a door, and saw a Fletchling, who I assumed was Prince Komali, inside the room, sitting on a bed, holding some kind of glowing orange sphere.

"Who are you supposed to be and what are you doing here?" he mumbled.  
"Oh, I umm… have something to deliver to you." I handed him the letter Medli had given me.  
Komali read the letter I gave him, an expression of uncertainty on his face.  
"Oh, sure, _telling_ me to be brave is easy enough for _him_ …" Komali complained. "It's not like he went through that horrible experience… it's not like he hasn't gotten his scale from Valoo yet… You're in this letter too, you know… it's not your business… Sorry, but I don't really feel like seeing Valoo right now… how will I get a scale from him?"  
"Well… I might be able to help!"  
"I'm not so sure about you… easy for YOU to say! Bragging doesn't cost a thing! If you can find me someone who can get past all the obstacles to see Valoo, THEN I'll listen to anything you say!"  
It wasn't in my nature to answer back to people who were rude to me, so I quietly left to meet Medli outside of the cavern.

* * *

At the entrance to the cavern, there were several dried-up bomb flowers on a ledge next to a large indentation in the ground, where a boulder was in a small puddle of water. There was a broken bridge down the sides of both of the ledges, and the one closest to me was climbable. Medli was standing down below in the indentation, so I climbed down to meet her.

"Hey Link! I'm really sorry for bringing you to such a dangerous place, but I desperately need you help! You see, there used to be a beautiful spring here, but in his rage Valoo knocked a boulder down and blocked the source of the spring. I need you to destroy the boulder!" Medli paused. "Oh, and what about Prince Komali?"  
"He didn't believe me when I said I could solve your problem," I replied.  
"Oh… I may be partially to blame for Prince Komali's behaviour… see, Prince Komali's grandmother was The Great Valoo's former attendant. I was honoured to have her as my teacher… she was kind and brave, and unsurpassed in her duty. If I was as great as she was, I'm sure Prince Komali would've felt more secure." She paused again, then turned to look directly at me. "Link, I'm sorry, but I need your help! There's a shrine to the north, near the peak of Dragon Roost, but that ledge over there is too high for me to reach. If I could get some wind under my wings, I might be able to reach it."  
"Okay, then…"

The hot wind in the dried-up spring was very strong and erratic. I played the Wind's Requiem to point the wind in the direction of the ledge. I then picked up Medli and tossed her to the top of the ledge.

"Oh, thank you, Link! I'm now able to meet Valoo at the top of the island! Don't worry about me!" the Fletchling shouted. "The Great Valoo speaks in an ancient language, but I can understand some of it. If anything happens to me, please look after Prince Komali! Oh, and before I forget… take this!"

She threw a glass bottle down to me. I quickly caught it before it could land on the hard, rocky ground and shatter.

"It may not look like much, but it could come in useful!"

As Medli left, I decided to put some water from the puddle around the boulder into my new bottle, then climbed back up the broken bridge to the top of the other ledge. I rehydrated some of the bomb flowers with the water from the bottle, then tossed one of them at the boulder. The explosion caused the boulder to shatter, unblocking the spring, flooding the indentation and allowing me to swim across. I then crossed a few platforms to get past the lava in front of the cavern's narrow entrance.

As I walked into Dragon Roost Cavern, I hoped to myself that things would go better than my failure in the Forsaken Fortress.


	6. Dragon Roost Cavern

The first room of Dragon Roost Cavern was grey, and noticeably cooler than the exterior, and at the far end of the room there were three blocks, which all had a strange, spiky face statue on them, in front of a mural depicting two Dragonair. I moved the blocks away from the wall, revealing an opening into the main cavern.  
The main cavern was vast, and filled with lava and Zubat. The heat was almost unbearable, and the Zubat's squeaks combined with the bubbling of the lava was rather annoying. I dreaded to think what would happen if I fell…  
There was a (highly flammable…) wooden bridge connecting two higher platforms, help up by ropes I could easily cut with my sword, as well as pillars of lava that occasionally rose up. This place already seemed even worse than the Forsaken Fortress.  
I ran across the bridge, to a platform with two bomb flowers and a huge, slightly cracked boulder, similar to the one that was blocking the spring earlier. Naturally, I threw one of the explosive flowers at the boulder.  
In the next room, there were several jars of water surrounding the entrance and most of the ground was lava. I threw one of the water jars at the lava, which created a platform made of rock; I carefully jumped onto it and then onto the platform on the other side of the room. What if I had fallen into the lava…? I dread to think about it.

I eventually made it outside the cavern, further up the volcano. I felt relieved as the cool wind blew in, in sharp contrast to the stuffy cavern. I'd even say that I had almost forgotten what the sky looked like. There was a wooden rope bridge connecting the platform I was standing on to another one, suspended over the sea. On the other side of the bridge, a Snubbull was standing. I ran over the bridge and slashed at it with my sword, only to realize that I was inadvertently cutting the ropes. I decided to run past the Snubbull instead, though I did get hit a few times. It actually rather hurt…  
Despite my injuries, I climbed up a wooden ladder, which was occasionally scorched by a pillar of lava coming out of the wall (but the ladder was only mildly burned…). Once I climbed up the ladder and onto a higher platform, a Staravia swooped down at me and nearly knocked me into the ocean, but I barely managed to hang on to a ledge. Barely. I decided that trying to fight the Staravia was more trouble than it was worth, so I desperately tried to avoid it and carefully sidled across a wall with another pillar of lava occasionally bursting out of it. I could feel the heat on my back, and it was _painful_. I began to wonder if I'd even survive this journey. I eventually climbed up to a ledge with a bomb flower and threw it at a cracked boulder, revealing a door back into the volcano. Thankfully, the room wasn't full of lava, and neither were any of the subsequent rooms.

* * *

After going through several rooms, some of which contained lava, I eventually made it to the exterior of the top of the volcano. I could see Valoo if I looked up, and he was making a strange noise that sounded like a combination of roaring and sneezing. There was a flight of steps that spiralled upwards, but, to my horror, as I climbed them they crashed down to the ocean behind me.  
At the top of the flight of stairs, two grey Snubbull armed with swords and shields, like the one from the Forsaken Fortress, were standing in front of a wooden cage containing… Medli? How did she manage all of the claustrophobic rooms of lava, filled with Pokémon trying to kill you? How did she get captured so easily? But Medli needed help, and she was in less danger than my sister Aryll. I had to help someone in need, so I bravely stepped forwards to fight the Snubbull, a gate closing behind me as I did.  
Still slightly hurting from my encounter with the Snubbull by the bridge earlier, I bravely leaped at my foes while holding my sword out – the jump attack. I then proceeded to wait for them to get close to me while I held my sword out to my side, then performed the spin attack. The Snubbull were finished off easily, but the fight wasn't over yet. A Staravia carried in a Granbull from further down the volcano, like back in the Forest of Flabébé. The Granbull was a lot tougher than all of the Snubbull I'd faced, and its attacks managed to hurt me quite a lot, and it could fling me to the other side of the arena. Despite this, I still braved on, attacking it while trying not to get hit myself. When the Granbull finally fell, I felt proud of myself. The cage containing Medli opened up. I noticed she was carrying a golden stringed instrument on her back.

"Link!" the Fletchling exclaimed. "I've discovered the source of The Great Valoo's wrath! A terrifying monster is attacking his tail that hangs down into the room below."  
"Medli!" I shouted back, running towards her. "I'm so glad you're here! I was… I was… umm… actually starting to get scared back there in the cavern."  
"Well, Link, you should be glad you're still here! Anyway, once you defeat this monster, young Fletchling will finally be able to get a scale from Valoo again! I've already gotten a scale, if you're wondering, but I've chosen to wait a while before I evolve."  
I was glad for her encouraging words, but despite all she was telling me, my eyes were drawn to her instrument.  
"Oh, you're wondering about this? Well, it's called a lyre, and it's been passed down my family for generations. But there's one thing I don't understand – my kind doesn't possess fingers, so why would we own a stringed instrument? Did this once belong to another species?"  
What Medli was saying actually rather interested me, but I didn't have time to talk about it. "Do you have a way for me to get up there?" I asked.  
"Oh. Sorry for wasting your time! Anyway, I have this," she handed me a rope with a hook on the end of it. "It's called a grappling hook, and it's a device that can grab onto poles. Apparently, my ancestors used it to reach high places because they didn't have wings. You can use it to climb to Valoo. Good look on your journey!"  
"Thank you!" I exclaimed as I ran up a slope, leading to a platform close to a horizontal pole coming out of the rocky wall. I swung over it rather clumsily – I'd just have to get used to it – and landed onto a raised platform on the other side.

And so I continued my treacherous ascent to the top of Dragon Roost Island, in order to calm Valoo by defeating the monster troubling it and receive Din's Pearl.


	7. Fears

Although Dragon Roost Cavern was still rather unpleasant to journey through, my meeting with Medli gave me confidence to continue. If I gave up now, I'd be letting her down. If I gave up now, I'd be letting Aryll down. Not to mention, it was too late to give up now; I was nearly at the top of the mountain. I used these thoughts to motivate myself.  
Unfortunately, the way forward often involved cutting ropes to make platforms I was standing on fall from high places and onto the rocky ground, right next to lava. I had to close my eyes in order to not become too terrified to continue.  
As I ventured further into the cavern, I kept encountering grey-coloured Bug-type Pokémon called Larvepede. I had to hit them with my sword many times to defeat them, and if they fell into the lava they simply came back out. They also managed to seriously hurt me, with their sharp mandibles and hot-to-touch skins. By the time I got to the end, I could barely stand up straight due to exhaustion. I wasn't sure how long my self-motivation would last.

I eventually made it to the entrance to the last room of the cavern, which was behind a large, ornate door. Before I entered it, I broke open a nearby jar, which contained a couple of Flabébé. Upon contact, one of the Flabébé healed me of all of my injuries. It healed the injuries I obtained from Snubbull sticks and swords, from being attacked by Zubat, from being bitten by several Larvepede, from nearly falling into lava… I silently thanked the Flabébé, and put another one in the bottle Medli gave me, just in case.

In the room on other side of the door was a large pool of lava, and Valoo's tail hung from the ceiling. It was deathly quiet in there, at least until I got closer.  
Suddenly, a giant orange and grey Pokémon, with huge, curved antennae that looked as sharp as swords, leaped out of the lava. It had six petal-shaped wings, but they probably weren't usable for flying, and while most of its front legs were small, a couple of them were huge and claw-like. The monster let out a horrifying screech, almost like a roar, and then looked directly at me. I fell over in shock when I saw it, but quickly stood back up. Was this what Larvepede grew into?  
The Pokémon was covered in some kind of tough armour, so I couldn't just attack it with my sword. I looked around, from left to right, trying to figure out what to do… and then I looked up. Quickly and bravely, I got out my grappling hook and threw it at the Sky Spirit's tail. After the rope was stable, I grabbed onto it and swung to the other side of the room, over the giant Bug-type. When I jumped down and let go of the rope, Valoo knocked down a huge boulder from the ceiling, crushing the monster and pushing it into the lava. The impact of the rock caused the Bug-type's armour to shatter. It then rose out of the lava, screeching, and replaced the ceiling's rock. I repeated the process two more times, which caused its armour to completely break. But the fight had only just begun – the monster was enraged, its lava-like skin exposed, and tried to crush me with its claws. The first time it attacked me, it struck me, causing me to fall over on my face, but its huge claw got stuck in the rocky ground. I used this as an opportunity to throw my grappling hook at its eyes, pulling the infernal lava monster closer towards me. I quickly slashed its eyes with my sword, and eventually the creature pulled its huge claw out of the ground. I once again repeated this a few more times, getting burned by lava several times in the process.

At last, after an arduous battle, I defeated the giant Pokémon. Its entire body cracked, except for its eyes, then it crumbled and fell into the lava. The lava then hardened into rock, which was darker than the surrounding floor, and a portal that looked like a small whirlwind leading back to outside appeared. I was glad that this excursion was finally over. Even now, I'd still say that Dragon Roost Cavern was one of the worst experiences in my life.

* * *

The portal teleported me near the beach of Dragon Roost Island. After spending what felt like hours inside of a claustrophobic, lava-filled cave, it was refreshing to feel the wind and see the sun again. Medli and Komali were both waiting for me, and the latter was trying as best as he could to hold the orange sphere from earlier without hands.

"Link! You made it! I've got to say, you're one courageous little Ralts," exclaimed Medli. "Prince Komali… don't you have something to say?"  
"Umm… Link, thank you," he mumbled. "I'm sorry for doubting you. Medli told me all about it… how you managed to defeat the monster that was troubling The Great Valoo… and because of that, I'd like you to have this." He passed me the orange sphere. "I want to be as courageous as you are one day."  
As I caught the orange sphere, I noticed that it had a pattern of three wavy lines. The top line had a circle on the right, and the bottom line had a circle on the left.  
Just then, Valoo roared something, but unlike before he didn't sound angry.  
"The Great Valoo is thanking you, Link," Medli translated. "He's telling you to… use the wind god's wind? What could that mean?" Of course, I figured out fairly quickly that Valoo was talking about the Wind's Requiem song Tornadus had taught me earlier.

I ran down to the beach, and talked to the King of Red Lions.  
"I see you have obtained Din's Pearl. Now we must head south to the Forest Haven, where Farore's Pearl is hidden!"  
I played the Wind's Requiem, made the wind blow southwards and boarded the boat, but I didn't set sail. Instead, I leaned forwards to get closer to my boat's "head".  
"Red… I'm not so sure about this anymore," I confessed.  
"Why would that be, child?" replied the boat. "You already agreed to go on this journey, knowing full well that you would face many dangers and hardships."  
"Yeah, but that was before I knew what those 'dangers and hardships' were. I didn't think you meant me risking my life to the point it felt like I was throwing it away. I know that Aryll is counting on me, but… am I really up to this?" I almost told Red to not call me "child", but it wasn't really relevant.  
"Why are you doubting yourself? I saw how brave you were back at the Forsaken Fortress. You were willing to put your sister's life above your own, and venture away from your home. Every child must eventually come of age."  
"Yeah, true… I tried to motivate myself by thinking about everyone who's counting on me. Not only is Aryll counting on me, but now Medli is to, and so is Komali. Komali even promised to become brave because of me. If I give up now, I'd be letting them all down, but can I do this?"  
"You've just answered your own question. You're doing this for all of the pe- Pokémon depending on you. Now be courageous, child, for your quest has only just begun."  
"Thank you, Red. I've survived this long; I shouldn't worry."

All of a sudden, my life had become very unusual. My father figure was a talking boat, and my biological family were all far away from me. But I still continued on my journey, because this was only temporary. As Red said, every child must come of age.

I opened up Red's sails and headed south to the Forest Haven, where my journey to save Aryll would continue.

* * *

 _Larvepede, the replacement of Magtails, are a combination of Venipede and Larvesta. They were originally just going to be Larvesta, but then I realized that Larvesta weren't myriapod-like. Similarly, the unnamed Gohma replacement is a combination of Volcarona and Scolipede (Volcapede?), and was originally just going to be a Volcarona._


	8. Something's Amiss in the Forest Haven

It was dusk by the time the King of Red Lions and I arrived at the Forest Haven. The island consisted mostly of a large, hollow tree trunk and a fast-moving river leading up to it, surrounded by a winding path with lots of ledges. There was an ominous island nearby that looked rather similar to the Forest Haven.

"This island is a very sacred place," said Red. "It is where the Great Deku Tree, the Spirit of the Earth, lives. You must speak with him and obtain the next sacred gem, Farore's Pearl. I fear that Ganon's evil may have found its way here. Proceed with caution, Link."

After climbing up a few ledges, I reached the first slope of the island. As I walked across it, a green Pokémon around four times the size of me with several long teeth, which looked like a Grass-type, jumped out of the ground and tried to bite me. Startled, I jumped backwards. Rather than attacking it, I ran away from it and climbed up the next ledge. There were several other of the fearsome Grass-types along the path.  
Eventually, the path reached a dead-end, with only an islet next to a waterfall ahead. I looked up and saw a horizontal post, so I got out my grappling hook and swung to the islet between the waterfalls. In the river, there was an orange Water-type Pokémon with yellow suckers on its tentacles. It shot a sphere of ink at me, so I held out my shield, deflecting it. The sphere hit the Pokémon, knocking it out. I then jumped over the river and onto a nearby islet, slightly bigger than the one I was previously on… only to be surprised by another one of those Grass-types, causing me to fall into the river. The strong currents carried me all the way back to the beginning of the island. The water felt strange; a lot less rough than sea water. I had to climb up the island all over again, still avoiding the toothy Grass-types.

Eventually, I made it into the giant, hollow tree that covered most of the island. Inside, there was a much slower river and countless trees surrounding it. In the centre, there was an incredibly tall tree, much wider than all of the others. I had to climb up a few ledges, but they weren't nearly as high as they were outside. As I got closer to the tall tree, I noticed that it had… a face? Not only that, but it was unlike any face I'd ever seen before, with a big nose and a single tooth protruding from its large lips. There was also a rather large lily pad in front of it. As I got closer, a group of spherical, jelly-like Pokémon, some green and some blue, started to cover the tree, as if they were hiding in its bark. I rolled into the tree, causing them to fall off. The Pokémon then tried to attack me by jumping at me, or creating a strange blue ripple that felt slightly warm. As I was surrounded, I felt a strange tingling sensation pulsating throughout my body, and I thought I saw a brief flash of light. Was I close to evolving?  
Afterward I defeated all of the jelly-like Pokémon, the giant tree started talking to me, in a strange ancient language that sounded somewhat similar to how Valoo spoke. The lilypad I was standing on then rose upwards, as if the tree had control over all of the plants here and wanted me closer to it.  
"I must apologise. I mistook you for someone else, someone from long ago. I thought you would understand my ancient tongue, but… it seems not. I am the Spirit of the Earth, the Great Deku Tree. I owe you my thanks for ridding me of those monsters, Ralts," the tree said. I still consider this to be one of the weirdest things I've ever seen, and that's saying something.  
"Did the King of Red Lions lead you here?" the Great Deku Tree asked. I nodded.  
"Then you must have come here to obtain Farore's Pearl. Which must mean that Ganon, after so many of your mortal generations, has returned. I knew there was a reason why monsters have been terrorising my woods… But do not fear, my children of the woods! This traveler is not your enemy!"

Suddenly, a group of pink Pokémon, with jagged leaves on their heads that acted as propellers, appeared from the Great Deku Tree's branches. They then jumped high up, and slowly spiralled downwards onto the lily pad I stood on.  
"These are the Hoppip, the spirits of the forest. Long ago, they looked a lot different than this, but their appearance changed when they came to live on the sea." I could sense that the tree was trying to hide something, but I couldn't tell what it was. "Although they have come to fear others, they will always be my children. As it happens, you have arrived just in time for a ceremony the Hoppip hold every year, the New Year's Ceremony. I shall give you the pearl once the ceremony has finished. I am sorry for delaying your quest."  
Suddenly, another Hoppip descended from the skies.  
"Great Deku Tree! I have terrible news!" the Hoppip exclaimed, desperately. I could really feel his panicking, and it was a rather annoying feeling.  
"What is it, Linder?" replied the Great Deku Tree. "You and Makar are always late."  
"Makar! Makar has fallen into the Forbidden Woods!"  
"WHAT? THE FORBIDDEN WOODS?"  
"I tried to warn him, but Makar flew above the Forbidden Woods, and as he came closer to it, he was carried away by the wind… He needs help!"  
The Great Deku Tree looked back at me. "Ralts, the Forbidden Woods is an island not far from my Forest Haven. It is a horrible island, filled with all sorts of vile beasts and sharp vines. I am so sorry to ask you this, but could you rescue young Makar for me?"  
"But Great Deku Tree! The only way to access the Forbidden Woods is from above, and his kind cannot fly!" exclaimed Linder.  
"Yes, Ralts… it seems you are much heavier than my children. But do not worry! This item I bestow upon you shall be of use."

The Great Deku Tree's face went through some rather… odd motions, and then a leaf, much brighter-coloured than the other ones, appeared on one of his highest branches. How was I supposed to get up there?  
I ran to the left of the tree, and noticed a purple bud of some kind in the ground, large enough for me to fit in. I climbed in, not sure what would happen, and after a few seconds I was propelled out of it. I landed back on the ground, looked up, and noticed that there were several similar buds on top of tall stalks, which were successively higher up. I climbed back into it, and then propelled myself to the next bud, and the next bud, and the next bud, and the next bud, being careful not to fall. Once I reached a relatively low branch of the Great Deku Tree, I realized how high above the ground I was. Falling sounded almost as bad as lava. I then had to jump into several buds, and I had to close my eyes in order to not become too scared to continue. Eventually, I reached the branch where the lighter-coloured leaf was.  
"Swordsmon! Over here!" shouted Linder, who was standing on a platform lower down, by an exit from the forest, and bouncing excitedly. "That leaf is called a Deku Leaf, and you can use it to glide over here."  
Nervously, hesitating for a moment, I jumped off the branch, and quickly held out the Deku Leaf like an umbrella. I glided over to the platform Linder was standing on, and as I got closer my fear started to drain away.

As I walked through the exit and towards the Forbidden Woods, I hoped that I be braver than I was in Dragon Roost Cavern.


	9. The Forbidden Woods

"Is it true that Hoppip become another Pokémon when they abandon the Great Deku Tree?" asked a Hoppip who was standing outside of the Forest Haven. I didn't know the answer to that Hoppip's question, but what I did know is that I felt nervous. I was on a high-up platform, and I could see the Forbidden Woods in the distance in the night sky. If I fell, I'd plummet down into the ocean. As I glided across the platforms, I closed my eyes out of fear.  
Above the Forbidden Woods were a few green Pokémon which were kept aloft by a yellow flower acting as a propeller. They also looked an awful lot like the Hoppip. Strange…

The inside of the Forbidden Woods was dark, and full of thorny vines, tall, twisted trees, and unruly grass. There were a few of the jelly-like Pokémon that attacked the Great Deku Tree earlier, and on the other side of the room was a vine with an eye that almost seemed sentient. This forest felt ominous, as if it was a single, conscious, malevolent entity. As I proceeded further into the forest, I came across more of the toothy Grass-types that I saw outside the Forest Haven. There were also a lot of high places that could only be reached by the catapulting buds. My leaf was invaluable during my journey through the forest, as it saved me many times from falling to my death.  
The Forbidden Woods seemed to last forever. The darkness was occasionally disrupted by the sky breaking through a gap in the canopy, but it was still rather claustrophobic in there. At least there wasn't any lava this time…  
I eventually made it to a large room with a flower suspended from the ceiling by vines in the centre. There were several gaps I tried to jump over, only to realize that I was way too small, and there were moving platforms that looked rather similar to hands. The thorny vines coming from the walls were moving independently. Yikes.  
The corridors leading away from this large room lead me to a room full of thorns that came out of the ground as I approached, creating the world's most annoying maze, and a room full of tubular, dark grey Pokémon that grabbed on to me. There seemed to be an infinite number of them, and they were weak but annoying as I dispatched them. My body tingled again while I was attacking them, just like when I was attacking the gelatinous Pokémon. Another room contained a shallow river, with a few more of the flying green Pokémon, which I needed to cross using a wooden platform suspended from a horizontal rope.  
I eventually made it into a noticeably wide room that seemed empty apart from a treasure chest behind a wooden gate on the other side… and then I looked up. Standing on the wall was a Pokémon with huge yellow and orange wings, and its main body was the same shade of grey as the annoying tubular Pokémon. I ducked as it swooped down to attack me. It sprinkled yellow powder over me, which at first just made me laugh, but as soon as came into contact with it I keeled over and could barely stand up. The bothersome Bug-type continued to swoop down at me, and I could only watch helplessly and feel the pain as I was thrown around the room. The Pokémon had me cornered, and I felt completely hopeless… but my body tingled again, the feeling stronger, more _there_ , than the previous times. There was a flash that shone throughout the entire room. Was I evolving? No… I wasn't. But this light seemed to hurt the Bug-type, and certainly stunned it. Filled with confidence, I managed to stand up again and finish the enemy off with my sword, bravely jumping and dodging. It let out a horrible screech as it fell to the ground, and the wooden gate on the far side of the room opened up. I ran over, opened the treasure chest, and obtained a curved stick, painted yellow – a boomerang.  
As I left the room with my newfound tool, I realized that I had learned my first move.

* * *

The rest of my endeavour through the Forbidden Woods involved going down, and cutting vines down using my new boomerang. At one point, I had to cut down the giant flower from the middle of the room with the moving hand platforms, causing it to fall down, allowing me to access the rooms below. I later had to sail across a river on a giant flower, propelling myself by fanning the Deku Leaf. Despite the lack of sunlight, there was a surprising amount of plant life, and a few white flowers that didn't really belong here dotted the grass. The water was an odd brown colour, almost as if it was made of twigs. The grey tubular Pokémon continued to be annoying, and I had to fight a couple of Granbull at one point. The forest felt like an intricate maze, a labyrinth of vines.

Eventually, I made it back to the second floor, and entered a large room mostly taken up by a giant flower. A Hoppip that was noticeably shorter than the others back at the Forest Haven, who I assumed was Makar, was standing in the middle of it. I was about to run towards him and take him back home, when suddenly a giant mouth appeared out of the flower and swallowed Makar. The flower folded in on itself, and I could see that the creature looked similar to the ferocious Grass-types that inhabited this place, but a lot bigger. It attacked itself to the ceiling using countless red and green vines.  
 _The fight is on.  
_ I ran around the room, cutting down the vines attaching it to the ceiling with my boomerang. The ferocious flora knocked me down with some of its larger vines several times. The monster acted as if it was the one controlling the entire forest. When I had managed to cut it down from the ceiling, the flower opened, leaving its huge mouth exposed. I sliced at it with my sword a few times, but I mainly used my recently-learned flashing attack, as I liked to call it. After a while, the flower closed again, spitting me out, and I had to repeat the process a couple more times. Each time, the monster's movements became more and more ferocious, but I wasn't as scared. I'd grown stronger from my excursion in Dragon Roost Cavern, so I had nothing to worry about.  
Eventually, the giant plant wilted, and the giant mouth spat out Makar. I ran over to him.  
"Thank you so much, swordsmon! Thank you for rescuing me!" the Hoppip exclaimed. "That monster must've been what those Carnivine – the monsters in the forest with giant moths – grow into. Oh – that's right! Today is the day of the annual ceremony! How could I forget?"  
I know this sounds rather rude, but Makar's over-enthusiasm and eagerness rather annoyed me back then.

I stepped into a portal, which had appeared when I defeated the giant "Carnivine", that lead me back to the Forest Haven, Makar following me.

* * *

"Oh, Makar! I am so glad you're safe!" exclaimed the Great Deku Tree once we returned. I don't think I'll ever get used to a tree with a face.  
"I'm sorry, Great Deku Tree… I should've listened… I should've…" cried the Hoppip.  
"Do not worry Makar. You are safe now." The tree's words reminded me of how I felt in the Dragon Roost Cavern. "But you should be more careful. Thank you, Ralts, for saving one of my children. Here is something I have promised you."  
I was about to tell the Great Deku Tree that my name was Link, thank you very much, but I was interrupted when he shook down a green, spherical object, with a pattern of a circle enveloped by two crescent moon shapes, down from his high branches. Farore's Pearl.

Later on, the Hoppip's annual ceremony began. Makar got out a violin and played it, and after a few seconds a few other Hoppip up on a ledge behind me sung a strange, wordless song. A few seeds fell from the Deku Tree's highest branches, and once the music was over they flew into the air and caught them. Saying their goodbyes, they flew away, saying that they would plant the seeds across the Great Sea, hoping to create a new forest. Makar remained on the island, and started playing a different song on his violin.

I walked out of the Forest Haven, still slightly shocked from the rather strange events, but glad that I didn't get extremely scared this time, to tell the King of Red Lions about my success.


	10. Greatfish Isle?

When I exited the Forest Haven, I noticed it was very early in the morning, just before sunrise. I was standing in a pool of water, which came from the source of the river inside the forest. I was about to walk back to where my boat was, when a quadrupedal, white and grey Pokémon, with red eyes that stood out strikingly from its dull colours, leaped, as if out of the shadows, in front of me, then disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, without making a sound. I wonder what it was? An omen, perhaps?

Further down the slope, a blue, serpentine Pokémon poked its head out of the river. "Hello, traveller," she – I could tell from the voice that this Pokémon was female – said. I must've looked confused, because then she said: "Oh, right. I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm a Dratini, and there aren't many of us in the world, so you can just call me by my species name. Anyway, would you mind helping me with something? It's not anything difficult, hopefully. That boat is yours, right?"  
"Yes, okay then. What is it?" I asked. I had helped several Pokémon already, so a small errand wasn't really a problem.  
"Well, my father has gone missing. A few days ago, he said that he needed to investigate something, and would be back soon, then flew away. Could you find him? He's a tall, orange Pokémon with wings called a Dragonite, so it won't be too hard to recognise him. I'd look for him myself, but the sea is too deep for a little dragon like me. Thanks…"  
Dratini dived back into the river, and then I ran down the slope to meet up with the King of Red Lions.  
"Now that you have obtained two of the goddess' pearls," Red said, "we must now head northwest to Greatfish Isle. If even the Forest Haven has been attacked by Ganon, I fear for this world's safety. You must hurry!" I climbed onto him, and we sailed towards Greatfish Isle, the sun rising as we left the island.

Along the way, the water was mostly calm, but I was attack by a group of Sharpedo at one point. Thankfully, my boomerang was an effective weapon against them; I didn't really want to use my flashing attack while Red was around. We sailed past an unusual, triangular island with an ancient statue on it at one point. As night drew closer, the sky turned dark, and heavy rain poured from the sky, and lightning flashed in the distance.  
When we arrived at Greatfish Isle, all was not well. The island was completely destroyed. There were several pieces of land that looked like shattered glass and were sticking out of the ocean at odd angles, covered in collapsed trees.  
"We are too late…" Red said, worriedly. "The Spirit of the Seas, Jabun, once lived here, but there is no sign of him now. I fear what has happened to him…"  
I noticed a familiar Fletchinder, Quill, flying towards me from the distance.  
"Link! I've been looking for you!" he exclaimed. "If you came here looking for the Spirit of the Seas, Jabun… well, I'm sorry to say that he has since departed. Just look at this place… it was once one of the most beautiful islands in the sea, and now look at it!" Quill turned to the side and narrowed his eyes angrily. "Who could have done such a thing?!" He turned back to face me. "But fear not, because Jabun has survived. The Spirit of the Seas has fled to your home… Outset Island."  
Despite the circumstances, I was glad that I'd finally be able to return home. My grandmother must've been worried sick about me while I was out risking my life!  
"But Link… entering Jabun's hiding place is no easy task. He has hidden himself in a cave behind a great stone slab, which not even the pirates could get through. Speaking of which, I have heard that the pirates were last seen on Windfall Island, but what they were doing I do not know. If you wish to find Jabun, I would recommend meeting these pirates."  
Well then. I didn't want to meet that Tetra again… but I suppose this was the only option. I couldn't just let the world crumble in front of me! And with that, Quill flew away.  
I was about to climb back onto my boat, when I saw an orange, winged figure standing on a high part of the ruined island.  
"HEY!" I shouted. "You up there! Are you a Dragonite?!" The orange Pokémon flew down.  
"Why, indeed, I am a Dragonite, child," he said, in a condescending tone. "Why must you disrupt me like this? It is my duty to protect the seas. For a Psychic-type, you are surprisingly terrible at sensing what others are thinking."  
"Hey, no need to talk like that!" I mumbled. "Anyway, your daughter was looking for you. I met her in the Forest Haven, and she said you were investigating something."  
"I indeed WAS investigating something! You see, I had a premonition that there was something wrong with the seas yesterday; an evil presence unlike anything ever seen before. By the time I had arrived here, this island had already been destroyed by a figure of an unknown species. I am trying to find that figure"  
 _Unknown species…_ was he talking about Ganondorf? I remembered the strange, horrible feeling I had when I first saw him at the Forsaken Fortress.  
"You said you protect the seas. What exactly do you do?" I asked.  
"Well, child, whenever many Pokémon in the seas are in trouble, or there is unusually harsh weather, it is a Dragonite's duty to step in and help. But, as much as I hate to admit this, there's one thing I don't understand: We Dragonite travel the skies far and wide, seeing many seas in our journeys, but the records all start at the same date several hundred years ago. That may sound like a big number, but the world's much, much older than that. How could that be?"  
"Sounds interesting enough," I said. "I'm sorry, but I need to go soon. I have other important things to do… But say hi to that Dratini for me, okay?"  
I kept a mental note of what the Dragonite had told me. Though I did say "sounds interesting enough" in a "oh, that's great, I need to go now" sort of way, I genuinely found the Dragon-type's question interesting.

* * *

As we sailed, the rain just kept on coming. Lightning flashed and thunder roared in the distance. By the time we reached Windfall Island, it was still night, and everyone was understandably inside. The pirate's ship ( _great_ ) was docked next to a secluded cliff, where a gravestone stood. There was a shabby-looking building on another outcropping, and I could hear anguished mumbling coming from inside. The door was locked, so how would I get in? I remembered back when I was in the Forsaken Fortress, where I had to inch sideways across narrow platforms; I'd have to do that here. I found a small opening and crawled onto a shelf inside the building.  
Two of Tetra's pirates had tied up someone, who I assumed owned the building. They said they needed bombs to get a treasure – the third pearl? Quill did tell me that the pirates were looking for Jabun. While they were having their conversation, I noticed a familiar Kirlia in the corner – Tetra. Looking at her gave me an odd, almost uncomfortable feeling… and it wasn't annoyance. Her triangle necklace really seemed to stand out to me, for some reason. She told her pirates to get back to the ship, and that they'd be going to Outset Island.  
 _Hey! That's where I'm going!_ I thought. After a few seconds, Tetra turned around and glared at me. I had almost forgotten that she was telepathic. She then turned back to look at her crew.  
"We haven't been on shore for a very long time, miss!" exclaimed one of the pirates, who I recognized from the Forest of Flabébé. "Surely you'll let us stay the night here? The treasure won't be going anywhere!"  
"Fools!" snapped back Tetra. "Did you SEE how that island was destroyed? We need to hurry up, or Outset Island could be destroyed like that too! Idiots…" she mumbled the last word. I cringed at the thought of my home being destroyed.  
"Miss?" asked another pirate. "You seem more worried about that island than the treasure. It's rather unusual."  
"Don't be ridiculous! I want the treasure and all, but that kid... It's just that he seemed so determined to save his sister… So, then, fine! You can have it your way. Stay on this island for the night, and we'll go there in the morning."  
I was shocked. _Tetra didn't hate me?_ Had something changed since I went to the Forsaken Fortress? Whatever the case, she'd definitely heard of all the things I'd done. She knew I could defend myself.  
Tetra left, and then I overheard the pirates talking about the password to the ship. Once they had left, unlocking the door, I jumped down from my high place and followed them out.

* * *

"What loves to be completely useless?"  
"A Luvdisc!"  
Sneakily, I had boarded the pirate ship. The heavy rain made the wooden surface slippery, and I almost faceplanted a few times. After reciting the password, I entered the pirate ship and climbed down a few stairs, and entered a room where one of the pirates, named Niko, was standing. He made me play a game where I had to swing to the other side of the room using the ropes on lanterns for a prize. I agreed to do it purely because the prize would hopefully be something useful. Several times when I was playing the game, I thought that swinging on ropes would be easy, and many times the ropes seemed way too small for a moment. This line of thinking caused me to fall to the ground a few times, but I eventually made it. My reward was… bombs? As in, the bombs the pirates had stolen from that shop? While I didn't like the idea of second-hand theft, I suppose I shouldn't be ungrateful.  
As I walked back up the stairs and up to the ship's deck, I noticed a map in a room I assumed was Tetra's. The map depicted the Great Sea, and it had a triangle drawn over three islands, and then a smaller, upside-down triangle drawn over three other islands. Interesting.

I left the pirate ship to board the King of Red Lions, and then I sailed back home, back to Outset Island, back to where I belonged.


	11. Home Is Where the Heart Is

Our journey took hours, but it was still night when we reached Outset Island. The sea was very hazardous; the waves were violent, the sky was filled with lightning and monsters were everywhere. To say I was glad when I finally returned home would be an understatement. After risking my life so many times, it was great to finally return home.  
The first thing I did was visit my grandmother. When I arrived there, I was shocked. My grandmother, my poor old grandmother, was sat in a chair with a hopeless expression on her face.  
"Link… Aryll… please don't leave your poor grandmother all alone…" she mumbled. This really struck a chord with me; I used to worry about my grandmother, but I forgot about her while I was too busy risking my life out there. I felt a pang of guilt. Just then, I remembered that I still had a poor Flabébé trapped in a bottle from Dragon Roost Cavern. I opened it up and released the Fairy-type, which used its healing magic.  
"Link… is that you…?" she said. Her glad feeling really resonated with me, literally. "You're safe… thank you so much! That's wonderful! Oh, Link… You and Aryll were both gone for so long, and I've just been staying here, worrying… I'm the one who should be taking care of you two… I'm so sorry…"  
"It's fine!" I replied. "This wasn't our fault." I almost told her about all of the life-risking things I'd been through, but that would probably only have made things worse.  
"Link… wherever you are, always remember that I am thinking of you."

I climbed onto the King of Red Lions, and sailed to the west side of the island. There was a conspicuous-looking stone slab on one of the cliff walls, decorated with spiral patterns. I got out my recently-obtained bombs (I still felt rather bad for owning them, but thinking like that won't get me anywhere), learned that my boat had a cannon, and started firing at the slab. After several shots, the wall crumbled, the top part breaking first. Once the whole slab was destroyed, we sailed in.  
In the cavern, a large figure slowly rose out of the water, making a huge splash once it did. The figure resembled a giant Lanturn, but it wasn't one. It had a huge mouth with protruding lips, and the light on the end of its antenna was an actual lantern. It was Jabun, Spirit of the Seas. He spoke in the same ancient language as Valoo and the Great Deku Tree, and Red seemed to understand that language. The boat spoke to him in the language I _could_ understand, and the Spirit of the Seas seemed to understand him back. It was very awkward, watching what to me was a one-sided conversation, but I could gather that it was about all of the terrible things that had been happening recently – the monsters, the Helmaraptor King, the eternal night… Ganon. Red said something about me not being "the legendary one"… was he talking about the Hero of Time? After their conversation, Jabun threw me a blue sphere, which had a pattern of three circles, surrounded by crescent moon shapes, arranged in a triangle shape, from his lantern. Red told me it was Nayru's Pearl.  
As we were about to sail out of the cavern, Jabun said something in the ancient language.  
"So the eternal night and the endless rain were caused by Ganon! His plans are beginning to be set into motion, right as we speak…" said Red, ominously. Jabun then dove back into the water.

"Now that you have all three pearls," said the King of Red Lions once we exited the cave, "Ganon's curse on this sea has been broken. Morning shall soon arrive. You must now find three triangular islands, and give the pearl to the ancient statues that stand upon them." I remembered sailing past a triangular island when I was sailing to Greatfish Isle. I set sail for that island, as well as the two other similar ones.  
The first triangular island was directly north of Outset Island, though it took me a while to find it. I need to be able to navigate better. On the island was an ancient statue with a nose and red eyes. There was a pattern of three wavy lines on its forehead, like on Din's Pearl.  
 _"Wandering traveller who seeks to learn the truth of this world… place Din's Peal in my hands…"_ a voice said. I looked around, confused, but then I figured that the statue was telepathic, like Tetra. Its voice sounded soft, not robotic like one would expect. I did as the statue instructed, causing its eyes to glow brighter for a moment.  
 _"Power is what allows us to do things. Without it, we would not have the willpower to make it through the challenges we face."  
_ As I sailed away from the island, I noticed a Pokémon high up the sky, in a cyclone, that resembled Tornadus, only it was sky blue.  
While I sailed to find the next triangular island, I encountered a group of dark purple Pokémon in a vertical shell with a spear of some sorts protruding from the top. They repeatedly rammed my boat, and some of them created extremely hard and sharp icicles and fired them at me. I decided that it was better to get away than attack them, until I finally reached the next island. This island was similar, only the statue had blue eyes, a mouth, and telepathically asked for Nayru's pearl. Once again, I placed the corresponding pearl on it, and once again its eyes glowed.  
 _"Wisdom is what allows us to understand things. Without it, we would not have the knowledge of what to do when faced with challenges."  
_ The last island I reached was east of the other two, and it took me quite a while to get there. Once again, I had to avoid the purple, spear-wielding Pokémon, as well as several Sharpedo, but I finally made it to the third island. It contained a statue that wanted Farore's pearl, and it had ears. After placing the pearl in its hands, it once again glowed and gave a telepathic message.  
 _"Courage is what allows us to face things. Without it, we would not have the emotion that drives us to overcome challenges."  
_ Afterwards, the statue started glowing brighter than ever. It started to rumble, so I ducked for cover. It then stopped, causing me to think it was safe.  
 _"Power, wisdom and courage are the three virtues that combine to form the Triforce, the ultimate artefact left behind by the gods,"_ said the statue, joined by the two others. _"O, traveller… if you have gone through many hardships and collected the three pearls of the goddesses, you have proven that you embody all three of these virtues. Worthy successor of humanity…"  
_ That last sentence really confused me. What was a "humanity"? But as I started to wonder what the statues meant, the one on the island I was currently on exploded, sending me hurtling high into the air. I eventually hit a very wet stone wall, and slowly slid down the wall, falling into the ocean. Thankfully, the King of Red Lions sailed over to wherever I was (in the span of a few minutes…) and caught me. I looked up, and saw a giant, white tower that hadn't been there before, with an entrance that could be sailed into.  
"This tower that rose from the sea is called the Tower of the Gods," explained Red. "It was created by the gods to test the courage of an individual worthy of the Master Sword. This will be the final step of your journey. You must be courageous, little Ralts."

And so we sailed into the Tower of the Gods to ultimately find the Master Sword and save Aryll. I hoped to figure out what the statues meant in the process.


	12. The Tower of the Gods

Who built this tower? Why was it here?

Something just felt _wrong_ about the Tower of the Gods. The atmosphere felt strangely sombre, as if the whole building was mourning _something_. The ocean inside here rose and fell every minute or so, causing me to wait for the right tide, giving me more time to look around the eerie tower. The walls were grey and gold, and covered in abstract, eye-like patterns, and waterfalls fell from a couple of them. There were golden pillars holding up the ceilings, and the higher parts of some of the walls were covered in faded mosaic. The doors had a triangle pattern on them, like the doors on Outset Island, only it was pointing upwards. This tower just… bothered me, like when I first saw Ganon. It almost felt like I was doing something wrong here, like it was an ancient site that should have never been uncovered. There were a lot of mechanical things here that definitely weren't Pokémon, and didn't even resemble any that I knew of. The layout of the tower was clearly designed for someone, _something_ much bigger.

When I entered the tower, I faintly heard a screeching sound that was coming from above.  
"Riyan… yan… tsu…"

Eventually, after a lot of thinking and not much fighting, I made it to a room with a strange staircase leading up to a platform, both made of what appeared to be rainbow-tinted light. Odd. There was a winding pathway beneath it, and on the other side of the room there was a dark grey statue on top of a pillar. When I approached it, the statue came to life, glowing blue, and the pillar sunk into the ground. It followed me throughout the room, and I had to be careful not to fall down into the abyss below. It continued to follow me until I entered a room with a raised platform in the centre, and several barred-off doors; when I got there, it climbed onto the platform and disappeared, revealing a stone tablet with Wind Waker directions on it.  
 _Command Melody  
Left, centre, right, centre  
Play this song to command the statues of this tower  
_I did as the tablet instructed, which caused the bars from one of the doors to disappear, and another, similar-looking statue to come to life. It told me that there were other statues like it in the tower, and that I should control them to proceed. The stone tablet then disappeared.

I had to guide three other statues through the next few rooms, and they required even more thinking. Each of these rooms eventually led back to this central room, and when the statues arrived there they "walked" onto grey circles on the floor, which then rose up into high pillars. There were switches that would only work if something was constantly pushing down on them. I also had to use my grappling hook a lot to get through this area – thanks, Medli! There also seemed to be a lot more monsters around than before, and they weren't easy to avoid, so I had to fight them. There were several areas containing water here, but unlike on the lowest floor, it was stationary. This tower was full of all sorts of traps, which seemed to have been created by eerily advanced technology. I kept hearing that screeching sound, which sounded absolutely _horrifying_ , because the wide rooms of the tower caused sounds to echo a lot. Was something trapped in here? How long had it been? What was wrong with it?  
But the strangest thing that happened along the way was when I found a bow and arrow. It seemed way too big, and for a moment I looked at my hand and saw… something else. An abnormal, pinkish, fleshy hand, with fingers that were way too long. I was shocked, then I assumed it was probably my imagination.  
Once I had guided all three of the statues from around the Tower of the Gods into the room where I learned the Command Melody, a green light came out of triangle shapes on their fronts, and a glowing portal leading to the higher floors of the tower appeared. I stepped into it.

When I arrived on a higher floor of the tower, I heard the screeching sound again, and it was clearer than ever before.  
"Riii… Riii… Aaan?"  
I looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound.  
"Riyan… TSU!"  
A red and blue… _something_ , which vaguely resembled a Psyduck, leaped out from behind me. It was completely smooth, and unnaturally so, with two "limbs" that were sideways, and it was always a few feet above the ground. I assumed it must have been one of this tower's contraptions. It launched a beam of ice at me, which I avoided, but slightly froze the ground. It then fired a bolt of electricity at me, which I couldn't avoid. The electric shock coursed through my whole body, making even standing up painful. While I was collapsed on the floor, it launched a black and purple orb at me, which I couldn't even try to avoid. I was being repeatedly battered, with no chance to fight back… this was almost as bad as Dragon Roost Cavern. I tried to use my flashing attack again, and it just barely worked – not enough to get rid of this _thing_ that was apparently a Pokémon, but enough to get it to flinch for a few seconds. I used this as an opportunity to try to get up. I held out my sword, trying to slash at it, but I could barely move my arm. But the "Pokémon" stared at the sword for a moment, as if it was bewildered, before it attacked me again. Its tail glowed, then turned silver, then it leaped forward, striking me…  
I just barely dodged the full force of the attack, the tail only slightly hitting me. It knocked me over, and I tumbled across the floor, sliding on the frozen patch. Even though I was seriously hurt, I unleashed my flashing attack again, but this time it worked. Although it wasn't enough to finish it off, the "Pokémon" seemed noticeably stunned, and had fallen to the ground. It managed to pick itself up and electrocute me again, but this time I avoided it. I got out my new bow and clumsily launched a few arrows at it, and several of them hit. Finally, it fell to the ground, its pupils turning into several ring shapes per eye. I was still rather hurt from this battle, so I immediately looked for a Flabébé, just in case. I also felt slightly queasy, as if my entire body was trying to change. Was I…?

As I left the room, I heard a grainy-sounding telepathic message of some kind. It seemed to be coming from the red and blue thing.  
 _"We created this mechanical creature to share this message, but it seems to have a mind of its own. If you are hearing this… that means we're all gone now. The Hero of Time did not come, and the world crumbled into darkness. No miracle came and saved us. If, for whatever reason, people are still around to hear this… make sure nothing like this ever happens again. We don't have much time left."_

I still sometimes wonder what that "Pokémon" was.

* * *

At the top of the tower was a seemingly empty room, with abstract, glowing patterns on parts of the floor. There were three oval-like shapes on the opposite wall, two that resembled hands of some sort and one that resembled a face, and as I approached the wall glowed blue.  
 _"O, successor of humanity… you have done well to find this place. You hold the virtues of power, wisdom and courage within your heart. Accept your final challenge."  
_ All of a sudden, two mechanical hands, both of which had a green and yellow eye on them, came out of the wall, and then a head with eyes that glowed red followed.  
I had to shoot arrows at its hand-eyes a few times, then at its red eyes. The head then fell to the ground, and I had to throw a bomb into it, then repeat the process. Unlike most of the enemies I'd faced, it didn't seem malicious in the slightest, though it did knock me onto the glowing parts of the floor, teaching me the hard way that they were electrified. I figured out quickly that this was supposed to be a test. Although it wasn't particularly challenging, I assumed it was because I'd grown stronger throughout my adventure. I'd braved the Forsaken Fortress, I'd braved Dragon Roost Cavern, the Forbidden Woods weren't all that bad… but I still hadn't saved Aryll, and that's what kept me going. I had motivated myself to keep going when I was in the worst situations by thinking about her. No matter what, I couldn't let her down. Not matter what, I couldn't let anyone down.  
Once I had defeated the mechanical guardian, it spoke telepathically again.  
 _"The future of this world and the memory of humanity are both tied to the path you have chosen. Be powerful, wise and courageous, little one…"  
_ The robot returned to its resting place on the wall, and another glowing portal appeared.

I was warped to the very top of the tower, where the sun shone bright over the pure white exterior. It actually rather hurt my eyes. There was a ladder leading to a platform with the largest bell I'd ever seen. I felt queasy again, then collapsed. My whole body seemed to start tingling, and it felt different from when I learned my flashing attack. I was definitely evolving this time. I felt myself getting taller, feeling more powerful… and when I opened my eyes again, everything seemed much brighter. I had evolved into Kirlia, so my eyes weren't as covered any more. I'd have to get used to that.

I climbed up the ladder, got out my grappling hook, and grabbed onto a horizontal pole inside the bell. I swung on it, creating a chiming sound that was probably heard all over the Great Sea, and maybe even beyond.


	13. The Castle Beneath the Waves

A familiar orange Pokémon, a Dragonite, was flying overhead and landed on one of the walls of the top of the tower. It was definitely the same Dragonite I met at Greatfish Isle.  
"So, I hear you've rung that bell?" he said. "Strange… this location, the Tower of the Gods, is mentioned a few times in old texts, but it was assumed to just be a myth."  
"It came from under the sea," I said. "It appeared when I gave the Goddess Pearls to some statues."  
"Really? Nobody knows what lies under the sea. There seems to be some kind of magical barrier, and the water is hard to see through."  
The Dragonite's words made me stop and think for a moment. _Nobody knows what the sea floor looks like, the tower come from there, and the statues said something about successors… was there some kind of ancient civilization?  
_ "Umm… anyway, I kinda have no way to get down to my boat… Mr. Dragonite, would you maybe fly me down there?"  
"Sure. I'd always be willing to help a hero. My name's Soleil-de-la-Mer, by the way."  
I was beginning to like Soleil. Though he was rather rude to me when we first met, he seemed like an interesting kind of Pokémon. His affinity for discovering and investigating strange things and ancient entities was starting to rub off on me. I climbed onto the Dragon-type's back, held on tight, and together we flew down to where my boat was.

"Link?" said Red. "You appear to have… changed."  
I was about to explain to Red that I had evolved, but before I could speak, he then said, "Now… the time has come. The gods have acknowledged you as a true hero. You are now worthy enough to obtain the Master Sword. It is time for the last trial. Are you ready, Link?"  
He sailed me into a yellow ring of light that had appeared in the sea in front of the tower. When we reached the ring, we… sank? We were descending down to the bottom of the ocean in a beam of light. It was an odd feeling, being underwater but still able to breathe. Did it have something to do with the "magical barrier" Soleil-de-la-Mer had mentioned?  
The descent took about a minute. We landed in front of a white-and-blue castle, almost untouched by time, with a symbol of a triangle with an upside-down triangle inside of it, surrounded by wings, on top of its highest spire. The same symbol was in front of the entrance.  
"The Master Sword is hidden within this castle," said the King of Red Lions. "After obtaining it, you will finally be able to defeat Ganon and save your sister. But…" He closed his eyes, as if he was remembering something he didn't want to tell me. I think. I'm not expert in boat body language.

Inside the castle, the first thing I saw was something that looked like a dark turquoise Granbull wielding a spear, but wasn't, which was frozen in the middle of attacking. In fact, the castle was full of unfamiliar, frozen creatures. I was starting to feel disoriented, confused, even slightly sick. What had happened to this place? The floor was decorated with a red carpet, several of the pillars holding up a higher part of the room had collapsed, and there was a statue of a strange figure holding a sword near the entrance.  
But after a few steps, I was greeted by two still-moving creatures. They looked like bigger versions of the strange "Pokémon" I fought in the Tower of the Gods, only lighter-coloured, and they were angular instead of smooth. The two of them faced each other, and after a few seconds, nodded, as if they were exchanging information in a language only they understood. A beam of light came out of their "beaks", and where they intersected, a grainy, rectangular image appeared. I could make out many strange figures who looked vaguely similar to Ganon in the image. After a flash of gold, they seemed to be panicking, and the reason soon became clear: a tidal wave. The image disappeared.  
I ran down some stairs, and saw that there were three triangular blocks and a darker, flat triangle in the middle of the floor. I pushed the blocks into the shape of the triangle symbol I'd seen around the castle, and then they disappeared into the ground, leaving a glowing triangle shape in their place, the same triangle I had seen in the entrance, glowing the same colour as the flash in the grainy image I had just seen. The statue moved, revealing some stairs.  
Down the stairs, there was a room with even more stairs, leading to a circular platform, with stained glass windows across the walls. There were five huge statues crossing their swords together, and underneath the point where the swords intersected was another, much smaller, sword. It was stuck in the floor, inside another triangle pattern, and it had an indigo hilt, and shone brighter than any other metal I'd ever seen. The blade faintly glowed red, green and blue. Cautiously, worried if it might have been a trap, I approached the sword, hesitated, and then pulled it out. Once I did so, the five statues lowered their swords, as if knighting me. This must've been the Master Sword that Red had told me about. The sword was much too big, and I definitely wouldn't have been able to wield it as a Ralts. In fact, I realised just then that my old sword, the one Mantine gave me, was much too small, so I discarded it. I had no use for it anymore, and I wasn't particularly attached to it.  
I ran back upstairs, and noticed that the frozen… things had come to life, and seemed very intent on attacking me. I was immediately noticed by a not-Granbull and an armoured creature. With my new sword, I attacked them courageously, dodging their attacks and leaping at them when they least expected. I was filled with adrenaline and power, and proceeded to look for and destroy every monster – that's what I'll call them – in here – which took a while, because the room was very big. I dare say that my fighting was _awesome_ ; shame that nobody was there to witness it. Near the entrance, I noticed a painting of a strange group of figures, similar to the statue, who kind of reminded me of Tetra and her pirates. Strange…

I exited the castle, climbed back into the King of Red Lions, and we rose back to the surface. Neither of us said a word.

My mind was swimming with questions. Were those monsters really malicious, or were they just confused after being frozen in time for so long? Had they even seen a Kirlia before? Should I have even taken that sword? Why did the monsters all came back to life after I took it? Was I really "worthy" of the Master Sword, or had I just stolen it from its rightful home? And what did the moving image of the wave? Was Ganondorf the only survivor of some natural disaster? Was he really that bad?


	14. Familiar Faces

"Now that you have obtained the Master Sword, it is time for you to return to the Forsaken Fortress and save your sister from the evil clutches of Ganon," said the King of Red Lions, after we returned to the surface. "Link? You seem oddly quiet today…"  
I wasn't really sure what to say to Red. Since he seemed so determined to make me into the Greatest Hero Ever, or something, I don't think there'd be any point in sharing my doubts with him. He'd probably bring up that conversation we had outside of Dragon Roost Island, where I was also doubting continuing this journey. Sure, I had to save Aryll, but did I _ask_ to do all of this dangerous stuff?  
As we departed, I saw Soleil-de-la-Mer circling the skies above, before flying north-east. I wondered what he was doing…

It was night by the time we arrived at the Forsaken Fortress, just like last time. To my surprise, Tetra, the world's most feisty Kirlia, was waiting for me by the entrance.  
"Hey, idiot," she snarked, apparently unsurprised that I had evolved. "I heard news that you'd be arriving here." I wondered for a moment how she knew. Then she said, "If you're wondering, that Fletchinder, Medli, told me. She seemed kind of concerned about you." I was confused until I remembered that Tetra was a telepath, but then I was surprised to hear that Medli had evolved. _But how did Medli find out…?_ Tetra looked at me as if she was about to answer my thoughts, but didn't.  
We walked into the courtyard, which had less searchlights out than before. All of a sudden, a quadrupedal, pink and white Pokémon with blank blue eyes and ribbon-like antennae leaped down from a high ledge. It seemed too adorable to be here, and didn't look all that threatening… until it kneeled forwards and barred its teeth, ready to attack. It held up its antennae, shimmering under the full moon, above its head, and a pink orb formed between them. It then tried to launch the orb towards us, but we both dodged, and the orb hit the floor, creating a large indentation and causing rubble to fly everywhere.  
"That's a Sylveon," said Tetra. "I think it belongs the owner of this fortress, but why he'd want one is beyond me."  
Gee, it's not like that Sylveon just destroyed a floor or anything.  
The Sylveon then created several star-shaped rays between its feelers, which homed in on me. Yet for some reason, I didn't feel compelled to fight back. I remember thinking at the time, _why would anyone want to attack such an adorable creature? Why did I have to resort to fighting in the first place?_ I was in a trance-like state, almost. I tiredly put my sword back into its sheath. _  
_"Link? LINK!" Someone shouted, bringing me back to reality. It was Tetra. "Sylveon has the ability to demotivate a Pokémon from fighting. It's called embracing, and can be potentially dangerous. Even a skilled Psychic-type like me is at risk."  
How did that girl know so many things? I suppose you'd need to know how to survive if you were a pirate.  
"If you want to defeat this Sylveon," she continued, "you'll have to cut it– sorry, _her_ antennae… sorry…"  
That was easier said than done. While the Sylveon's demotivating powers were affecting me less now that I was aware of them, they were still there. _She_ was also very good at dodging, leaping swiftly away from my attacks with an almost unnatural grace. On the other hand, I was the exact opposite of very good at dodging her pink orb and star attacks. Whenever I tried to jump attack her, I ended up hitting the cold, hard ground. But when I finally got my sword close enough the Fairy-type…  
"Link! Link! Stop, you IDIOT!"  
…I was interrupted by Tetra.  
"While you was fighting that Sylveon, or should I say Melodiella, I managed to have a telepathic conversation with her. Would you like to hear it?"  
"Um, yes," I said, partly because I was worried that Tetra would get mad at me if I didn't.  
"Let me begin…" Tetra's eyes glowed cyan, and then I felt a wave of someone else's memories enter my mind.  
 _"Master told me that you are intruders. Master told me that you are against his noble cause."  
"Noble cause?"  
"Master wants to bring the world back to how it used to be. To do that, he needs somethings called the try-fours and jira-chee."  
"But that doesn't excuse how he–"  
"Master thinks that a Ralts-girl somewhere in this sea has a piece of the try-fours. Apparently, the try-fours can grant wishes. Master wants all of the try-fours to summon someone called jira-chee and wish that the world would go back to how it used to be."  
"Okay… but what do you mean, change the world to how it used to be?"  
"That, I do not know. Master would not tell me. But… Master is still good. When I was just a little Eevee, all alone, an orphan, Master took me in. Master is just trying to make the world better... OTHER KIRLIA! PUT YOUR SWORD AWAY! LISTEN TO ME!"  
_I wasn't sure if I should've felt sad or angry. Was Melodiella _really_ trying to justify not only kidnapping, but also attacks on islands all over the sea? But who was _really_ feeding me lies? Her, or Red? And what about that "jira-chee"?  
I quietly put my sword back, then walked away. Tetra didn't follow me.

Inside the fortress, there were less Granbull around, and more Sableye. There were no guards to capture me and throw me in the dungeons again, thankfully, giving me more time to remember Tetra and Melodiella's conversation in my head over and over, as I retraced my steps through the corridors. I didn't really want to attack anything; I wasn't in the mood to. In a room with a pool of water in the middle, I met a familiar face.  
"Hey! Link! Dad told me that you were coming here!" an enthusiastic, female voice said.  
"Dratini?" I replied, slightly confused, slightly surprised.  
"Étoile-de-la-Mer, actually. Since dad told you his name, I thought I might as well tell you as well," she replied.  
The two of us went up the stairs across the room. Once we arrived outside, we were being constantly chased by Sableye. Their gemstones shone bright in the dark night, and their shrill squeals pierced the dark air. I used my flashing attack on them, while Étoile launched them far away by hitting them with her tail, but they just kept coming back, like there was an endless amount of them. Our only option was to run as fast as we could, which wasn't easy for the Dratini.  
Finally, after much struggling, we reached the top of the spire, right outside a huge door. This was the same platform as where I got my sword back, all those weeks ago… But we were still surrounded by Sableye, so it wasn't the best time to get sentimental.  
"I guess we'll just have to attack as many as possible, then bolt through the door," said Étoile. "Ready?"  
"Ready," I replied.  
Although we were cornered, we still attacked as ferociously as possible. Étoile breathed fire on them in addition to flinging them away, causing the number of Sableye to noticeable decrease. I thought it would be more practical to use my flashing attack than my sword, even when some Snubbull decided to join in. Suddenly, though, I began to wonder if I was really doing the right thing, considering what Melodiella had told me… did _they_ think Ganon was doing the right thing too?  
Suddenly, a vaguely familiar, orange and grey Pokémon appeared in the sky from the distance. A Fletchinder. But it wasn't just any Fletchinder – it was Medli.  
"Link? Is that you? Hey, you've evolved!" she shouted, swooping down towards us.  
"I notice that you have too, Medli!" I shouted back.  
"Who's your friend?!"  
"Oh, it's É–"  
"My name's Dratini!" Étoile interrupted. (She told me later that she only let Pokémon she liked and knew well use her name. Strange, she was.) "Fletchinder whose name is apparently Medli! Hey! Can't you see we're kind of in trouble right now?!"  
"That's why I've come here! A Dragonite told me that he overheard you talking to someone, saying you were coming to this fortress!"  
"Okay then," I replied. "Can you help us fight?"  
"Not really. I was never the best fighter. But I _can_ do some other things!" Medli landed down onto the platform, and got the lyre off her back. She played a simple melody, just a few repeating notes, but it managed to distract the Sableye long enough for me and Étoile to open the door. While her lyre playing was admittedly rather awkward-looking, I was impressed that she could play an instrument like that at all with wings. Before we went through the door, we turned around to face Medli.  
"Don't worry about me!" exclaimed Medli, the Sableye all still looking at her, statically. "I can handle these just fine!"  
Étoile and I ran through the door, in order to save my sister and several other Ralts, and hopefully discover the truth of what Ganon was up to.


	15. Some Things Must Remain Concealed

Inside, the room was exactly the same as it was when I'd last seen it. A few Wingull scattered when they noticed me. I ran towards the wooden prison cell in the corner of the room where the Ralts girls were being kept, and Aryll was waiting for me near the edge. "BIG BROTHER, YOU'RE OKAY!" she exclaimed. I'm pretty sure she attempted to hug me through the wooden bars. I ran over to the door and tried to open it, when I realized it was locked.  
 _"Took you long enough,"_ someone said telepathically. It was Tetra, accompanied by some of her pirates.  
"H-how did you get here?" I asked. "I thought you left me…"  
 _"Took a different way. Now keep your voice down; we don't want to get heard."_  
"Why?" I shout-whispered. I looked around, and there didn't seem to be any immediate danger around. The other pirates forced the door down and rescued most of the girls, but not my sister.  
"Link, who exactly are you talking to? D'you have the second sight or something?" asked Étoile, rather loudly. I still don't know what she meant by "second sight".  
Suddenly, I heard the air pressure increasing as a giant, brown, masked, flying Pokémon appeared: the Helmaraptor King. "ARR-YAA!" it screeched.  
 _"…Because of that,"_ Tetra deadpanned.  
A few seconds later, Étoile made an angry face as if she'd been accused of something; Tetra must have telepathically reprimanded her.  
"Don't worry, Aryll, your big brother will be okay," I said, as I got out my sword and ran towards the monster bird. Étoile and I ran up a helical, wooden slope while Tetra, Aryll and a pirate escaped. My heart was pounding. The room started filling up with water; Étoile was a good swimmer, but I wasn't, and I'm still not. As we ascended, the Helmaraptor King destroyed parts of the slope, impeding my progress. Thankfully, I could use the grappling hook to get across – once again, thanks, Medli. Several times, Étoile tried to attack the Staraptor, but I had to pull her by her tail to get her not too; we didn't have enough time. Since she wasn't very fast, she kept trying to wrap herself around me in order to keep up. Unfortunately, Dratini are a LOT heavier than they look. When we finally reached the top of the helical slope, the Helmaraptor King landed in front of us, bending down. I was honestly clueless for what to do. My sword was ineffective, bouncing of the hard mask, and I couldn't focus well enough to use my flashing attack. Étoile tried breathing fire on the mask, causing it to melt and fall off. The Staraptor spread out its wings wide, and tilted its head back, screeching, then fell down into the water…  
Étoile and I climbed up what remained of the slope, and onto the stone platform at the very top of the fortress.  
…When the Helmaraptor King rose out of the water and quickly flew up to the high platform, the hole in the ceiling closing behind it and turning the platform into a circular arena, surrounded by spikes. It screeched again. Its brown feathers blended into the night, while its white and red feathers stood out shockingly. The monster bird flew around the arena. Étoile stayed where she was, her eyes fixated on it.  
"We wait for him to come closer," she said, "then we STRIKE!" She waved her tail back and forth, mimicking an attack.  
Eventually, the Helmaraptor King dove down towards me, but I managed to dodge. Its beak got stuck in the stone platform, which Étoile and I used as an opportunity to attack. She breathed fire on it, while I used a combination of sword strikes, arrows and my flashing attack, although the arrows weren't very effective. It was rather satisfying to hit its exposed head with my sword. Étoile finished it off with a few slashes of her tail, which knocked the Staraptor over towards the edge. It fell off the platform, screeching, in a storm of feathers, and then the spikes retracted. A lot of its feathers fell onto the battlefield. Étoile and I climbed up the slope, and at the top there was a big door, surrounded by skulls and swords.  
Cautiously, we opened the door. Inside the room, there was a long, red carpet stretching from the door to the other side, and on the other end of the carpet a tall, cloaked figure stood: Ganondorf. Next to him was Melodiella. I felt conflicted. Should I have sympathised with the Sylveon?  
"You have done well, reckless little Ralts," Ganon said, his back turned to me. I was about to correct him and say I was a _Kirlia_ , thank you very much, but this wasn't the time for corrections. "And I see you've made a friend along the way."  
"Don't… underestimate… me…" hissed Étoile through barred teeth, restraining herself.  
Suddenly, the dark figure turned around. He looked just as… off as I remembered him, back when I first went to the Forsaken Fortress. The dark green skin, the eyes that were too small… I'd never seen anything like him before.  
"My name is Ganondorf," he said. Of course, I already knew that, but I was too scared to talk to him. "Did you notice anything… unusual when you drew that sword? How the monsters were no longer frozen in time? Do you know what that means? That sword, the Master Sword, kept the seal on my magic and minions… you FOOL!"  
That was it. I was seething with anger from being called a "fool". Carelessly, I drew my sword and charged towards him. I found myself facing one of Ganon's weird rectangular swords, then a flash of blue and white…  
"If you want to hurt him, you'll have to get through me first!" growled Étoile. Ganon responded to this by hitting her so hard that she flew to the other side of the room, hitting the wall. Melodiella smiled. My left hand felt like it was burning…  
Suddenly, a few orange Pokémon flew into the room, carrying Étoile and I out of there.  
"A Dragonite's duty is to guard the seas, and protect those in need."  
Soleil!  
 _"Did you really think we'd abandon you like that?"_  
Tetra!  
Soleil carried me down to the King of Red Lions, where Tetra was waiting for me.  
"It is time for you to return to the bottom of the ocean," said Red. And so, we sailed towards the Tower of the Gods…


End file.
